The week in tech: 5 must-know things

Dec. 22, 2012
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Instagram, the popular photo-sharing service that Facebook bought this year, is the target of a storm of outrage on Twitter and other sites after the company announced Monday a change in its user agreement that hinted that it might use shared photos in ads. / Karly Domb Sadof AP

by Julia Ryan, USA TODAY

by Julia Ryan, USA TODAY

Congratulations on surviving the 'Mayan Apocalypse'! Believe it or not, the tech world still moved on despite warnings of "apocalypse doom and gloom." Here are five things you need to know about the week in Tech:

Instagram created a huge uproar when it updated its privacy policy on Wednesday with new guidelines suggesting that photos posted in the app can be used in ads.

The new Terms of Service said some parts of the app would be supported by advertisers with sponsored content featuring user photos, even photos from users under the age of 18.

Brett Molina asked @usatodaytech's Twitter followers on Wednesday how they felt about the Instagram's new update, and they were NOT happy.

From @tonyajpowers: "I won't use it. Facebook has ruined Instagram. There are other cool filter apps that I can use on my pics."

From @Craig_cgc: "Instagram's new policy is an egregious use of its customers' information. I'll be gone."

Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom quickly changed course on Thursday and said the company will go back to the original advertising terms of service in effect since Instagram's launch. "I want to be really clear: Instagram has no intention of selling your photos, and we never did," Systrom said in a blog post on the Instagram website. "We don't own your photos - you do."

If you have already decided that you're done with Instagram, make sure you check out our rundown of the best Instagram alternatives, including Flickr, Camera Awesome and Streamzoo.

Time is running out to buy gifts for friends and family members! But don't worry, Tech's holiday gift guides can help you find the best presents for the tech nerds in your life.

This week, USA TODAY's Marc Saltzman has a guide to the best accessories for smartphones and tablets.

Products include new phone covers, gadget-friendly bags and noise-canceling headphones. Otterbox's Defender Series cases help your phone "withstand the bumps and drops of everyday life." The iHome iB50 headphones cancel noise so that "no outside noise, such as an airplane's engine roar, will come between you and your music." Tablet and smartphone-friendly games include re-releases of Hasbro's The Game of Life, Monopoly and Battleship - all three games let users place an iPad in the middle of the board for expanded functionality (your iPad acts as the spinner!).

If you want a more visual guide to holiday gifts, Jennifer Jolly's TECH NOW video series has ideas for do-it-yourself gadget gifts, last-minute stocking stuffers and more.

Mark Zuckerberg got into the holiday gift-giving spirit on Wednesday by donating $500 million in Facebook shares to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a health and education non-profit.

This isn't the first time that the tech mogul has shelled out big bucks for charity. Zuckerberg is a member of the Giving Pledge, an organization that asks the wealthiest people in America to donate to a wide variety of causes.

Last year Zuckerberg helped fund "Startup: Education" in Newark, N.J. The initiative funded new teacher hires and helped open four new high schools and 11 charter schools in the Newark area.

Jawbone's Up bracelet is new and improved after a less-than-stellar debut last December.

The first version of the fitness tracker bracelet promised to track your sleep, daily step count and meals to help you get fit and healthy. But the bracelet quickly dropped off of the market when users complained that the bracelet had battery and syncing problems.

USA TODAY's Ed Baig reports that the relaunched Up bracelet is "a step forward," with expanded food and sleep monitoring options, and a body that is "light, thin, comfortable and not-half-bad-looking, even if it won't live up to everybody's idea of fashion."

Facebook is fighting back against spammers with a new option in Messages that charges users a fee to send a message to someone they don't know.

The new messaging filter would give users two choices: a basic version that allows messages from friends and "friends of friends," or a stricter version that only allows messages from a person's Facebook friends.

Other messages will be automatically re-routed to an "Other" folder. Users would only receive one paid message per week. Facebook is still testing the new Messages feature, so you've got some time to think about how much of the Facebook world you would want to block out.